Airline Pilot Central Forums - Trans States Emergency Meeting

Quote:

Originally Posted by Superpilot92 (Post 141096)

I dont think if you dont have a degree you are some how not as good of a pilot. In fact I know thats not true. However if minimum flight time for hiring was higher and a degree was required for employment then more than likely pay would go up. The degree will continue to become less and less important This is just another way for MGMT to "Dumb" down the job. They can justify paying less and less if qualifications aren't important. Just my thoughts. So do you think i have a degree or not? worth 20 points!!!

1. One of the great misunderstandings about aviation is that pilots are paid and chosen just to fly. While flying skills and qualifications are important, they are only one of the facets of being a professional pilot- except maybe for some one being paid to fly aerobatics. A pilot is normally paid to fly an aircraft from point a to point b. Associated with this flying are other important duties, depending on the type of flying. A passenger airline pilot, for example, is in the customer service industry and is being paid to safely move people from point a to point b, and to do so in a manner that makes them want to fly your brand again. While the possession of a college degree does not automatically bestow on the recipient the tools needed to handle these "non-aviation" aviation related tasks, it does demonstrate that the individual has been tested on problem solving of some sort (be it mathematics, people skills/management, etc). This is also why military personnel often have a leg up on people who came through the civilian route. Normally military personnel are put into problem solving and leadership situations that assist them later on. This does not mean pilots coming through the civilian route do not possess these skills- just as a high school graduate, with the correct experience, can have problem solving skills better than a college graduate. There is just a greater chance of getting these opportunities in the military, thus a greater chance of hiring some one with those skill sets.
2. The above applies to aerobatic teams as well. When the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds interview, flying skills are only one of the many discriminators they use. I experienced the same while being interviewed in the Army for the special operations aviation unit. A big part of the assessment was the check ride, but it was only PART of the assessment, and a pilot could still make it in if he busted the check ride. (BTW, I busted. I was 45 seconds late to the target- an unlit, grass strip that I had to find at night, +- 30 seconds).
3. When screening and hiring pilots, it is not an "either/or" proposition between flying experience and education or demonstrated problem solving skills. Usually you can find people with skills in both areas, and normally these people are better aviators. Maybe the bush pilot is more precise at putting a C-180 down in a stream bed, but that is not airline flying. Airline flying is precisely flying an ILS; diagnosing problems that arise; the correct use of the resources at your disposal. One of the things I HATE to read in an incident summary at my airline is a captain writing, "I immediately took the controls from the FO and performed the _______ immediate action items." Worst thing a captain can do, and statistically leads to more accidents, but it is what most pilots used to a single pilot environment do. Heck, 99.9% of the time a monkey could do my job. It is that .1%, however, that I get paid for. Every emergency I have had has involved much more than just wiggling controls- they have been more about system analysis and problem solving.
Again, I am not writing a pilot without a college degree has no chance of getting the skills needed to be a professional pilot. Nor that pilots with college degrees or military experience possess these skills. Just that the odds are greater.
Enough of high jacking this thread. Wasn't it about TSA or something??